The Yankees have been getting very little production from their catchers on offense. Jose Molina has been the starter for the most part since Posada injured himself. He has played in 32 games for the Yankees and he is 21 for 102 (.206 avg, .523 OPS) with 8 runs scored and 5 RBIs. Chad Moeller has hit the ball better than Molina but he will probably be sent down to the minors when Posada returns from the D.L. Moeller has played in 14 games for the Yanks this season and he is 13 for 49 (.265 avg, .712 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 1 homer and 8 RBIs. Jorge Posada has played in 18 games for the Yanks this season and he is 19 for 63 (.302 avg, .809 OPS) with 8 runs scored, 1 homer and 11 RBIs. Getting Posada back will put the offense at full strength and he should help them score a lot of runs.

With Ian Kennedy being put on the D.L. earlier today the Yankees will need another starter next Tuesday and the money is on Joba Chamberlain. Chamberlain has pitched in 19 games (0 starts) this season for the Yankees and he is 1-2 with a 2.42 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP. He has whiffed 27 batters and only allowed 15 hits in 22.1 innings this season. The Yankees will have to be careful with Chamberlain as far as pitch counts go to make sure he doesn’t hurt himself. Another concern about putting Chamberlain in the rotation is the fact that Joe Girardi has a poor record of burning out young pitchers. Anibal Sanchez, Ricky Nolasco and Josh Johnson all had good rookie seasons for the Marlins in Girardi’s season at the helm but all of them broke down early the next season and had to go under the knife. Another big issue will be replacing Chamberlain in the 8th inning.

The Yankees have placed young righty starter Ian Kennedy on the 15-day disabled list with bursitis and a strained right lat. Kennedy has been awful this season for the Yankees having pitched in 9 games (8 starts). He is 0-3 with a 7.41 ERA and a 1.75 WHIP. Kennedy’s main problem has been his control which was a hallmark in the minors. He has walked 25 batters in only 37.2 innings pitched this season. Kennedy will likely have to fight his way back to the majors as he will likely spend a lot of time in the minors rehabbing before he gets another chance with the Yankees. The Yankees have recalled righty reliever Chris Britton to replace Kennedy on the roster. Britton has pitched in 2 games (0 starts) for the Yankees this season and he is 0-0 with a 1.93 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP.

The Yankees have signed 31-year old lefty swinging 1B Ben Broussard to a minor league contract. Broussard played in 26 games for the Texas Rangers this season and he was 13 for 82 (.159 avg, .493 OPS) with 8 runs scored, 3 homers and 8 RBIs. He has now played in 705 games in his major league career and he is 561 for 2,136 (.263 avg, .774 OPS) with 275 runs scored, 87 homers and 314 RBIs. Look for Broussard to get a quick call from the minors if he hits well in AAA ball while Shelley Duncan continues to struggle.

Darrell Rasner has stepped up for the Yanks when they have really needed it. He has started 3 games for the Yankees this year and he is 3-0 with a 1.89 ERA and a 0.84 WHIP. Rasner has done a good job of throwing strikes as he has only walked 2 batters in 19 innings this season. Rasner is taking advantage of his big shot and he will likely keep the job if he keeps up the solid work.

The Yankees have placed reserve infielder Wilson Betemit on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right hamstring. Betemit has played in 10 games for the Yanks this season and he is 7 for 26 (.269 avg, .758 OPS) with 2 runs scored, 1 homer and 3 RBIs. Betemit has been replaced on the roster by rookie infielder Alberto Gonzalez. Gonzalez has played in 11 games for the Yanks this season and he is 7 for 26 (.269 avg, .691 OPS) with 4 runs scored and 1 RBI.

The Yankees have placed righty reliever Jonathan Albaladejo on the 15-day disabled list with a sprained elbow ligament. Albaladejo pitched in 7 games for the Yankees this season and he was 0-1 with a 3.95 ERA and a 1.54 WHIP. This is a tough break for the Yanks as Albaladejo could work multiple innings.

21-year old righty swinging outfielder Austin Jackson is off to a solid start in AA-ball. Jackson is the #2 rated prospect in the Yankees’ farm system according to Baseball America’s Prospect Handbook. He has played in 30 games so far this season and he is 35 for 125 (.280 avg, .726 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 5 homers, 17 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. The Yankees might have to use Jackson in a trade to fix their pitching problems at some point this season.

Jason Giambi still hits a home run once in a while but he’s looking more and more like he is toast. Giambi has played in 27 games this season for the Yankees and he is 13 for 83 (.157 avg, .710 OPS) with 14 runs scored, 5 homers and 16 RBIs. The Yanks have some options if they get sick of Giambi. Morgan Ensberg has hit over 30 homers in a season once. He has played in 17 games for the Yankees this season and he is 13 for 59 (.220 avg, .517 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 1 homer and 4 RBIs. The Yanks also have Shelley Duncan who they have groomed in their own minor league system. Duncan has played in 8 games for the Yankees this season and he is 4 for 22 (.182 avg, .560 OPS) with 4 runs scored and 1 RBI. Wilson Betemit has just come off the disabled list. He has played in 7 games this season for the Yankees and he is 3 for 17 (.176 avg, .398 OPS) with 1 RBI. Unless Giambi starts hitting the ball look for him to find the bench soon or possibly even get released. Only a team with the finances the Yankees have could even consider cutting a player that makes as much cash as Giambi does.

Robinson Cano has gotten off to a much slower start than he did in 2007. In 2007, Cano was awesome in the 2nd half of the season but the Yanks need him to pick up the pace right now with A-Rod and Posada on the D.L. Cano has played in 33 games this season and he is 19 for 121 (.157 avg, .467 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 3 homers and 9 RBIs. I have a feeling that Cano is going to get hot soon with the bat and the Yanks need him to.